Wood. Our main source of heat for the Winter. Yes, I do have alternate sources for heat, Kerosene heater, Electric baseboards, but my wood stove, OH, how I love my WOOD STOVE!!! Last Winter, we were caught somewhat unprepared. Our wood was cut and split, but not seasoned. Seasoned for anyone not familiar with this rustic ritual of wood stove heating, is when the wood has time to age and dry up. The perfect fire is attained by having perfectly seasoned wood. We were late obtaining our wood last Winter. So it takes forever to burn and get to a decent heating temperature, not to mention the added chance of creosote buildup in the chimney that can lead to chimney fires, and worse.
We get permits from the Ranger stations and therefore are allowed to go on Crown Land and take dead and/or dying trees, as well as trees that have already fallen. This wood is plentiful in the Crown Land that is used for clear cutting. The companies that clear cut are mainly interested in the softwood, i.e. (Conifers) Spruce, Pine, Cedar. What we use for a longer burn is hardwood, i.e. Maple, Birch, Oak, etc. Clear cutters cut the hardwood to get to the softwood, but leave the hardwood where they land. This is where people like us come in, we obtain this wood, that is no longer living and we use it for fuel wood. We truck it home saw it in chunks and split is so it fits in our little (but yet packs quite the heat) Wood stove.
I understand that Wood stoves do generate some pollutants into the air, then again so does the coal powered generating station outside of Saint John. I am not sure where my power for my house is obtained, either from the Nuclear Plant near my house, the Coal Generated, or the Hydro-electric facility in Saint John. I do believe it is a shame and a waste to cut down a perfectly good hardwood tree to obtain only softwood. The Rangers agree with this as well, as the removal of fallen trees allow for new growth to emerge from the soil the fallen trees had covered.
This brings me to another love, my love for the forest and the natural beauty within it. I love driving the trails that were cleared by loggers, I take pictures of what I find so beautiful in this world. We are cautious to not go outside the path already created, so not to disturb any flora or fauna.
As we obtained this years permit, we sought out the woodlots that our permit cover, so we can get some wood. Since the leaves have not yet come in we were able to see a sight that we have missed before. Without the hindrances of leaves and grass, etc, we were able to get a good clear picture of the destruction that lies after clear cutters have taken from the land. Don't get me wrong, I am not a true 'tree hugger' but there was a definite sadness to the barren woods. All that could be seen were stumps and countless white birch that was fallen in order for a 'skidder' (the machinery that tramples through the woods cutting everything in its wake) to get the much desired softwood.
There is no speed limit in the woods, we prefer about 5 Km/hr. Why race through such beauty and/or sadness, depending on what area you travel? Not only do we get an amazing sight to see (negative or positive), but also we can reflect on nature in all it's glory. We also have time to discuss issues that come about and most recently it was waste. Wood waste. Everyone talks about plastic bags, ok, so they don't compost and take forever to degrade, and all the needless packaging filling up our landfills, etc. But yet, wood can be mulched, not often enough do you see these people do this. Not everyone has access to a mulching machine. I know I don't.
There are bins for plastic, glass, aluminum, etc. Nothing for garbage wood. Wood will degrade in time, sure, and it will fill up our landfills just as much as any other substance. In the future, it will probably be the one of the few things in a landfill that was able to degrade.
While going around to various establishments, Marshall and I noted all the pallets that are sitting in or near dumpsters, and/or fields behind these shops. I did some research and there are pallet recyclers around, but not here. Not enough business in this neck of the woods. We decided to talk to some of these businesses about their intentions with the pallets. Most do not recycle, not cost effective enough to do so, there is no establishment here that recycles them. When asked what they do with the old pallets they stated "we dump them", they put them in the dumpsters and then once full are taken to the landfill with the rest of the commercial waste.
BRAIN STORM. We need wood, pallets are made of untreated wood, mostly hardwood. We decided to ask about obtaining these pallets, and they told us we would be doing them a favour taking them away, as it would lower their dump fees, etc. "GOOD ENOUGH!" Some places were able to keep some as some smaller establishments recycle only their own pallets and the rest are scrap. They are in perfect shape...well, that is for as perfect as a pallet could be.
We figure, well, as best as I can hope, that we would be doing a service to recycle these pallets into fuel wood. We need wood and this wood is going to waste literally. So for the past week and a half, Marshall has been going around to these various establishment asking about the pallets that are left behind and forgotten. Some have even been left in fields not even good enough to burn, but yet still intact and taking up space.
In a week and a half, he was able to collect over 180 pallets, with many more places to go, but we have run out of room in our front yard. Even my father-in-law's yard is full. Marshall decides to be a 'squirrel' and collect his 'nuts' for the Winter coming assuring me that he will not be caught off guard this Winter. Marshall, his dad, his nephew, Breanna and I have all taken to task the dismantling of these pallets. Once they are disassembled they are cut to fit our wood stove. I have included pictures of our wood pile.
I do not condone anyone reading this and/or stealing pallets from establishments. We spoke with the establishments for the gathering of these pallets. We respect their decisions if they state they keep them or recycle them; although it was almost disturbing the amount of places that state they 'dump them'.
I wanted to share my experience, in some very small way, of helping the recycling movement. I know it will be turned into pollutants, but the way I see it, is if I am not using electricity that is generated in a coal generated power plant, then wood combustion is far less harmful to the environment than coal combustion.
So, there is my reasoning. Ok...and I am cheap....it costs $200 plus delivery (up to $80) for one cord of wood. It costs a tank of gas at most to collect and transfer all those pallets to my house (They equal two cord of wood). It takes time to disassemble and saw the wood, but we need the exercise anyway. My power bill running off just electricity costs $300 in the dead of Winter. So, yeah, wherever I can cut a corner to save a few pennies, I do so.
I am at work today, It is Memorial Day in the US. Even though we are a global company, a good majority of our clients are in North America, so it is quite slow today. To all my American readers: I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day. Today I not only thought of wood, but of my cousin Steve who is the in the US Army. He is a medic and overseas in Iraq. I think not only of those who have lost their lives, also of those still fighting for ours. God Bless!!!!
